Here's to the Future
by wolfrun1
Summary: 3,000 years have passed since the Great Battle of the Biiju and an immortal Naruto still walks the earth as a living fossil. But what happens when the reincarnations of his friends and foes suddenly start to appear? SasuNaru NaruSasu
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: First off, this site is called FanFiction dot net; why the hell do I even **have **to put a disclaimer? You didn't know these characters weren't originally mine?

Second, this is just my attempt at turning Bishihuntress' (deviant art) doujinshi into fic form. I've asked her for permission but she hasn't answered me back yet…. I'll take it down if she says no, though.

**Prologue**:

What…what's happening to me…? I can feel it in side of me. He…it feels like he's trying too….

"Hey! You, fox bastard, what's going on!? What the hell is happening to me!?"

He lifted his big head slowly, two eyes the size of my body focused on me through the steel bars of his cage.

"**Oh…?"** He tilted his head to the side. **"Is something the matter?"**

"Don't bull shit with me—you know what's wrong!"

The lips on his muzzle pulled back slowly, revealing his teeth in a way that could almost resemble a smile**. "I won't deny it, but…"**

"But?"

"**But I have long suspected my being here to be the cause of your…**_**condition**_**."**

"But—!"

"**Listen to me, brat! And listen carefully, because I'll only say this once…. It's been thirty years—thirty long, almost unbearable years since your father sealed me within this empty hell-hole you call your mind...and yet, you don't look a day over fifteen."**

I took in a short breath. He was right.

"How do I make this sto—?"

"**Stop? Now why would you want to do that?" **He snorted. **"Isn't this what every human wants? Immortality?"**

"Immortality…." I couldn't help but look down. What am I going to do? My friends…they'll all leave me behind….Again….

"Besides", the fox's words snapped me out of my thoughts, "it's too late to turn back now. I've been inside of you long enough for us to merge. If I don't do something quickly, I'll lose my chance…. But as a result of all that's happened up until now, every thing that I am…will be passed on to you…."

I felt something getting closer to me. I heard footsteps heading my way and I looked up. He's….

"**Knowledge…"** He's coming through the bars. **"Power…"** He's getting closer to me. **"Life…"**

"How did you…? You look…" Human….

"**Well then," **He reached out to embrace me. **"I believe I have over stayed my welcome." **I could feel him smiling. **"This is good bye, kit."**

"Kyuubi…."

"**You have a long life ahead of you."**

"But, I'm…" I'm not read for you to leave…not ready to be alone…

My eyes began to close—my body tilting backwards as if falling. The cage in front of me became fuzzy. The last memory I'll forever hold of this watery passageway…will be an empty one.

"I'm not ready for this…."

The darkness swallowed me before I hit the ground.

--

Smack

"ITAI!" I sat up and rubbed my bruised head. "I wasn't ready for that, either!"

Why do I always have that dream when I'm sleeping on something I could fall off of! If it weren't for the speed that my cells regenerate at, I'd be in a coma by now.

I tried to rub the sleep out of my eyes. The building that I now stood on had a great view of the city; I might as well look at it with all of my focus…. I never know when it might change on me again….

Oh yeah, by the way, for those of you who don't know me, I'm Uzumaki Naruto—self-proclaimed protector of Konohagakure! I'm the last of my kind, a demon in every way, and human in my current form. For the past three thousand years I've lived in the shadows of this old city and watched it grow into something that just seems so new.

…But its getting _so _boring.


	2. Chapter 1

"Well," I said out loud, walking through the city park, "what do'ya think'll happen today?"

Before you ask, yes—I _am_ talking to myself! Gods, I can't even remember how many centuries it's been since that habit kick in. If I had to guess, I'd say I developed it out of loneliness, but, hey, _I'm no expert_.

But seriously, how else do you expect me to waste my time? I try not to make friends. I've already lost my old ones. I can't find a job. I don't _need_ a job. Nobody has any use for my super special skills, anyways.

"Is it just me", I asked, looking up at the sky, "or have these last two hundred years been really…_boring_?"

I hate to say it's just me…but it probably is. Who else do I know that's live long enough to feel the same?

Nobody, that's who.

I sighed as I sat down on the nearest park bench. Ever since the ninja villages got wiped out, the world's been so uneventful. I mean, sure, there are still _wars_, but they're over stupid things like money and power. Nobody fights for knowledge and freedom anymore.

'Fighting'….If you can even call it _that_. This generation is so lazy! They don't even fight their wars anymore. They've developed so much in tools and technology that they can do what took Pein almost all of his life's energy to do, with the flick of a switch! They don't even have to _leave_ their villages.

At least when true shinobi fight, they fight with their fists. They don't hide behind some screen door and watch the effects as they unfold; they don't sit back and relax as the area they take over crumbles into nothing. They get down in the dirt and fight like men. They come back with battle scars, not an electricity bill.

And do the soldiers even feel the same coming home alive anymore? Like they accomplished something great, after years and years of preparation and study? Do they even have to study?

I shook my head.

I lay down on my back, deciding to look back up at the sky again. It's all I can really do other than muse nowadays. "Don't I do this every day…or, maybe not? Maybe I've just done it so many times, they've bunched up together?" Who am I foolin'—I _do_ do this every day.

Let's try cloud watching.

Hey, that cloud looks like…a bunny. And that one looks like a stick—no, wait, never mind. That's the tree above me. Heh heh. Oh, oh! That cloud—that cloud _right there_. It looks like...a cloud.

I groaned, "I don't care what Shika says, you can only do this for so long!"

"Hey! _Guys!_" I heard, what sounded like a little girl, whining in the distance. "Come on, guys, slow down! Wait up, gu—ow!"

My shinobi senses tell me—she just tripped….Better go check it out.

"From ninja to nurse; what're the odds…? You guys alright?" I asked when I reached them. The two boys were surrounding the fallen girl, begging her not to cry by bribing with promises of 'Konohamaru taking her out for ice cream'. "You know, you should try not run out here right now. After all, it just…rained…."

What the…there's no way….

I looked down at them.

These kids…they…

The brunette boy looked up at me with a familiar face, "We know we shouldn't have run, but we were in a hurry! Moegi's still hurt though!"

Moegi…? Gods, they _do_ have the same name! Same names, same faces! I'm dreaming! Tell me I'm dreaming!

Tell me I _not_ dreaming.

"I must've hit my head harder than I thought."

"Don't worry, Moegi!" The Kono-clone grabbed her arm. I think he's gonna try to carry her. "We'll get you home in one piece! Ready, Udon?"

The other clone had a hold of Moegi's feet. They really are trying to lift her.

"Ready! Heave!—whoa!"

"What the!"

"Ack!"

And…they failed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So which way's your house?" I asked Konohamaru as we walked down the street. I had Moegi in my arms.

"It's two blocks from here if we just keep going straight….Thanks again for helping us out", he scratched the back of his head, "But isn't she kinda heavy?"

"Nah, pretty light, actually. But you shouldn't comment on a girl's weight. If this Moegi's anything like the one I knew, she'll kill you when the time's right."

"You know another Moegi?" She asked, "I thought it wasn't a common name."

Crap, I said it out loud! "Uh, no, no, it's not that common." It really isn't. "I mean, I've never met anyone else named sprouts. Well, except that _other_ Moegi I just mentioned. Heh heh." I tried to laugh out the awkwardness, but they just kept _staring_ at me.

Konohamaru was the first to turn away though. He stopped in front of a shop window.

"Hey, guys. Can we walk in here for a moment? I think I see something Granddad would be interested in."

In an antique shop? Must be one of _those_ grandfathers….Wait…his grandfather….

"Hey, kid," I asked him, setting Moegi down on a stool. "About your granddad, is he on your mom's side, or your dad's side?" What am I asking? The odds of this spreading much farther than these kids is one in a thousand.

Or, maybe one in _three_ thousand.

"My dad's, not that it really matters anymore; I don't live with my parents. But my uncle, his wife, and—pretty soon—my cousin, they all live in the house with us too."

I know I'm just getting my hopes up with this. They don't recognize me at all. I'm just setting myself up for disappointment. But—but _come on_! His story fits perfectly!

"Alright, guys," Kono-clone held up his shopping bag, "we can leave now."

"Pleasure doing business with you again, child," the old store clerk smiled. "Your old grandpa's the only person I know who still believes in that shinobi business."

_COME ON!_

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"I'm home!" Konohamaru called out when we walked through the door. "And I brought friends!"

"Welcome back", an old voice greeted us. It had a familiar ring to it.

Ha, I never thought I'd get to see you grow wrinkles twice, old man!

He turned to face me, his eyes lighting up. "It's about time you showed up." He smiled at me. "You've left me waiting quite a while."

He—does he _recognize_ me? That can't be?

Can it?

"Come here a moment", he motioned to me; tapping the ground he was sitting on. "Let me see you." He grabbed my hands, studied them.

Well…I guess this proves it. This isn't a dream…

He smiled, "It's 'bout time someone answered that job application!"

Yeah, this is happening alright….Only in reality is he ever _this stupid!_

He chuckled, "Say goodbye to smooth hands, though. You'll have blisters the size of Hokkaido when I'm through with you."

My cells regenerate too fast for that, nimrod!


	3. Chapter 2

[Insert really, really long apology here]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Man, it took me hours to convince the geezer that I wasn't his repair man (what's with old dudes and broken things, anyways?)

The old fart's a lot more stubborn than I remember....

"So you weren't here for the job then...?" old man Sarutobi (can you _believe_ _it_?? That's still their surname!) sat down next to me at the dinner table (Konohamaru asked if I could stay for dinner...heheh...who am I to say _no_?) "Well, that's a pity....Still doesn't explain why you're here though." Nosy, old bastard.

"That's kind of my fault." Konohamaru, here to save us from the awkwardness. "You told me to learn how to defend myself after some kids at school started picking on me. Naruto said he knew some moves he could show me after dinner." I...did?

"O...that's nice." The old man looked a little surprised. He turned to me, narrowing his eyes a bit. "So what's the catch?"

Before I could even open my mouth, to verbally kick his ass with, a heavenly aroma—one that could make even the Gods and Demons of this Earth drool—seeped through the open kitchen door.

Then the sweetest words imaginable flowed musically from Kurenai clones mouth: "Ramen's ready!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Kurenai handed a bowl to Sarutobi. "Thank you, dear."

Ku-clone had this weird pondering look on her face. "Its funny...I could've sworn I've seen you somewhere."

"Thanks for the meal!" Me and Kono-clone sighed when we'd finished our bowl, Kurenai hadn't even sat down to eat hers yet.

"You two are done already?" Asuma's clone laughed.

"A growing boy's metabolism is a frightening thing." Ku-clone added.

But the old geezer's clone was still pickin' on me: "Can you get me some more medicinal herbs from the storage?" Who asks their guests to do stuff for them?? Rude....

"Sure, Gramps!" Kono-clone grabbed me by my collar, "since Naruto is gonna keep me company, its the least he could do!"

"I am?"

WHAT???

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

So we go to this dinky, little storage shack outside the main house.

"Thanks for coming with me. You have no idea how creepy it is in there!" O, wow, I don't remember you being such a chicken!

"...How cuuute~" Hehehe

"Hey!" He steamed, "I'm not scared!" Suuuuure, and I'm not a ninja. "Its just got all the stuff Grandpa's collected from most' his jobs."

"Oh! What does he do?" Don't tell me: he's an ex-leader of the police force, or something really crazy like that!

"He kinda deals with people's spiritual problems." O....

"Spiritual problems???"

"It should be somewhere in the back." Don't you go changing the subject on meh—!

"ACK!"

"Hey, are you alright?"

This place reeeeks of chakra. And, by the looks of it, it has reason to. Ninja stuff = everywhere in here...."Although, I thought most of this stuff was destroyed during the war...."

"What? You talkin' about the 'War of the Jinchuuriki'?" O, man, I said that out loud? But, HEY, how the hell does he know about that!? "'Didn't think anyone but Gramps believed in it."

"O...you mean you _don't_ believe it really happened?"

"C'mon, Ninjas? Demons? Sacrifices? Sounds cool...but there's no way stuff like that could exist in real life...." I kind of stopped listening to him at this moment.

Mainly cuz something else caught my eye.

I can't believe it though—how did they get their hands on a Hokage hat?

I had to just touch it.

Grasp it.

Hold it in my hands again.

...The memories this brings back.

_'O, Naruto, we're so proud of you!'_

_'You deserved it, man!'_

_'We love you, Naruto.'_

_'You've come such a long way!'_

_'We believe in you!'_

_'_I _believe in you....'_

"...Naruto!"

"HUH??"

"I said: let's head back!"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Sorry...I fazed out there for a second...."

Kono-clone sat down next to me on the porch of the main house. "What were you thinking about back there anyways?"

"Just...an old friend."

"Its getting pretty late," Asu-clone looked like he was coming out here for his last smoke of the day. "You should probably head home."

Kono-clone looked at me, raising his mini-eyebrow, "Now that I think about it...you were alone when I met you....You _do_ have a home, don't you?"

"O, uh, yeah! Yeah...its...its under the...um...." Where is it again? Its not...in existence....

"You don't...know...do you?"

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

So....

After about an hour of 'omg, where did he come from?' Kurenai had an epiphany of some sort.

"Ah! Now I remember!" She pounded her fist to her palm, "When I take my morning jogs, I've seeing a blonde boy sleeping around the park!" And almost instantly—ninja like, instantly—I was in her arms, and pressed firmly up against her nice fluffy breasticles (complaining? Bitch, please). "Poor~ baby! You must be homeless!"

"Its not really that bad—"

"I won't let that happen! Asuma, dear, do we have space?"

"He can stay in my room!"

"Thanks, Kono-clone...but I like my trees—"

"Are you sure about that, Konohamaru?"

"Yeah! I've always wanted an older brother!"

"You don't mind doing chores, do you?"

...I give up....

_**Sigh**_..."No, I can stand a bit of hard work."


	4. Chapter 3

Oh, why—yes, this is another chapter update. You see, I finished my homework early today, and then found myself with a few hours spare time.

Lucky me.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

_For thousands of years, humans have lived in fear of demons._

_The tailed demons, especially....They were gruesome, destructive, immensely powerful...._

_Nothing could stand in their way...._

Nothing.

_...nothing...._

_Nothing...until the art of sealing was discovered. By sealing the creatures inside of human vessels, we believed we were safe from the endless battle between man and beast._

_Man and beast....That wasn't a battle to worry much over...._

_Man and man._

_Now _that's_ a scary thing._

_We fought each other, yes. Over and over again, in fact. Day and night, night and day—it was a constant battle for dominance, in power, in love—you name it, it was a reason._

_And we used the demons to do this. Manipulated their containers into doing what we told them, using the emotions that only humans can't control with mind alone._

_But I guess what we never realized was that demons weren't so different from humans in that:_

_They had emotions._

_They could love._

_They could hate._

_They knew forgiveness...._

_They knew _**revenge**_._

_Sooner or later, the demons would find away to escape their hosts, in hope of such revenge._

_And then they did it._

_They did it, and it was over._

_It was over, and it was done._

_In one day._

_In this day the demons came and went...._

_And then they were gone._

_And then _we_ were gone._

_And then it was over._

_And then it had begun._

_It was the darkest day ever witnessed._

_Yet the sun was shining so very bright._

_A heavy rain of the thickest crimson droplets was falling from the nearly cloudless sky._

_And we were alone._

_It was the worst feeling in the world--the worst moment in the history of forever_

_...And no one had seen it coming._

_The cries of children, men, women, and demons—of every shape and size, all of them—filled the air. The rumbling of the earth below us as it split in a thousand different ways, swallowing them up the village—our village—**my** village, this nation, this country, this world, and everyone in it._

_What could I do?_

_What should I do?_

_What **did** I do?_

_...Nothing._

_Nothing. At. All._

_And do you know why?_

_Because..._we _had been the cause._

_The demons didn't care for revenge—not anymore. Not after seeing what we'd already done to each other while they weren't there._

_They went home._

_Back to Hell.  
_

_And I was alone; for the first time in my life, my body was mine, and mine alone._

_And the world was left to rot...._

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx_  
_

Psssh! _Right!_ Like we'd still be here if that were true!

I mean, yeah, sure, I_ guess_ the demons did get pretty sick of us a while back, but it wasn't _nearly _that serious.

Stupid old man reincarnation—thinks he _knows _everything....

Bleh.

I mean, knowing Kyuubi the way I did, he wasn't really that 3-D of a guy. He liked things. He didn't like things. That was basically it.

When he left me all those years ago, I bet it was out of boredom and homesickness! The weak little puppy! He's such a baby.

But I guess the home those demons went back to must get pretty boring after a few hundred years; because, every so often, you can spot a few of them back here in the human realm.

Which is why I'm now currently standing in the pond out behind the Sarutobi-clone clan's house.

I'mma catch me a Kappa...._Fun_.

Kappa's are such foolish creatures though. Think they can out-wit a ninja (and a demon one at that!). This one right behind me thinks he can just sneak up on me and drag me underwater. He doesn't know that I already know he's there. He doesn't know that my shadow clone, currently sneaking up on him, also knows he's there.

"Gotcha!"

Damn, paranoid old windbag: '_I want you to go out to the backyard and banish any water demons you find out there. They've been giving me quite a deal of trouble lately...drowning my squirrels....'_

How did the old man even _know _they were demons? Lucky guess?

I lifted the Kappa up by its shell.

Stupid turtle wannabe.

"You know, for a Kappa, you sure aren't that smart, are you?" His eyes met my one red one, a terrified look was suddenly plastered all over his ugly, little face. "Killing on _my_ territory....You know," I lifted his chin with my free hand, looking him over, "I've never had turtle ramen before...I heard its goo—AHHH!"

_HE BIT ME!!! _

That stupid little—

"Where the hell do you think _you're_ going!?"

O, MAN, this _**sucks—**_ever since the old man found out my secret, he's been working me to death!

I can just remember Kono-clone now:

_'Grandpa, this has gone too far!' _(Thinkin' back on it, what the hell made him think tying me up and hiding me in a shed was a good idea in the first place!?)

_'NO! The signs are obvious! He's definitely a fox demon.'_

_'What makes you think I'm remotely out of this world?' _

_'These past few days, I've been seeing things only my theories can prove.' He turned his head to look behind him, there were three fox pups lounging around near the crack in the open shed door. 'See that!? Its a sure sign of disaster!' He pulled an old exploding tag out of his pocket, shaking it in my face, 'Give me one good reason why I shouldn't seal you right now!'_

_Thinking quickly like the ninja god I am, I formed a seal within the ropes that--were actually failing quite a bit--binding me. 'OIROKE NO JUSTU!!!'_

_My sudden enhancement in the sexy department had him out like a light within minutes._

_I untied myself, got rid of the expired exploding tag, stood up—all without looking in the Kono-clone's eyes. He wasn't talking. It was just kind of silent._

_'Look,' I said quietly, 'I understand...if you want me to leave after this....'_

_As I started for the door, my ninja senses told me he had something to say. I stopped.  
_

_'Naruto...this...this...IS SOOOOO COOL!!!'_

_'...What...?'_

_He started jumping up an' down, kinda like a kid who'd just won a toy store or something insane like that. 'Not only do I have a new brother, but he's also a blood-thirsty demon!'_

_Blood-thirsty...?_

_'Sorry, just ramen for me.' I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly.  
_

_'Awww! Too bad!' he winked, 'But there's one thing I'd like to know!'_

_'...Yeah?'_

_'Heheh...which one are you? The chick or—"_

_'I'm a **male**, you little—'_

_'Now that I think about it,' the forgotten old man weakly raised his arm into the air, immediately changing the subject of the air, 'you might be of use to me after all....heheheh'_

And that's why I'm out here now, trying to re-catch this runaway Kappa. The slimy old fart threatened to expose me (not that anyone would believe him if he did) if I didn't do whatever he wanted me to.

"AHAH!" I tackled the turtle-thing as it emerged from the grass and out into the middle street. "Gotcha!"

He was squirming in my hands. The wetness glare off of his shell is so shiny, I'm surprised he's not slipping through my fingers....

...Or...he's not...wet....

I turned around just as the car was within 10 or so feet of me. I jumped out of the way and back into the grass in time to avoid being seriously hit, but the Kappa jumped from my hands when my arm collided with the front of the car.

It screeched to a halt, and what sounded like two side doors opened.

"Dammit!" went the voice from the side farthest from where I was hiding. "We waited three weeks to get this car after you totaled the last one! And what? To hit some kind of overgrown lizard!?" The brushing of grass told me that the Kappa had just retreated into the weeds on the other side of the road.

"First of all," came the other, lazier voice, he sounds really close to my hiding area, "I didn't hit the container, it hit me....And secondly," he sounds really, really close now, "I'm pretty sure I didn't hit a lizard."

"Well, whatever it was, it left one heck ov'a dent."

Hell yeah it did! My arm's bleeding all over!

...Ugh...you'd think being immortal, I'd bleed _less_....And if this doesn't heal up soon, I'm going to have a lot of explaining to do when they find me....


End file.
